The present disclosure relates to an arrangement for, and a method of, optimizing radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) reading performance when reading RFID tags associated with products in a venue in which stationary, overhead RFID readers are deployed and operated substantially simultaneously with one or more handheld, mobile RFID readers.
For product locationing, product tracking, product identification, and inventory control of products associated with radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) tags in a retail, factory, or warehouse environment, or a like venue, it is known to deploy a plurality of RFID tag readers at stationary, overhead locations in the venue, and then, to operate each such overhead reader, under the control of a network computer or host server, to transmit and receive RF signals over a plurality of reading zones and over a relatively long, reading range, e.g., over twenty feet, to any such tags to read their payloads. A multitude of tags may be in the reading range of each overhead reader. A specific location of any particular RFID-tagged product in the venue is typically determined by having the server process the payloads and capture data from a plurality of the overhead readers by using triangulation/trilateration techniques known in the art.
Although the known overhead readers have been generally satisfactory for reading RFID-tagged products, their reading performance could sometimes suffer and degrade when, for example, multiple RFID-tagged products are stacked closely together, thereby making any one individual product more difficult to isolate and read, and/or are positioned on metal shelving structures, or near walls, of the venue. In such cases, the RF signals are often reflected and/or scattered and/or at least partially absorbed by these structures and/or walls along multiple, folded paths, thereby reducing the capability of the overhead readers of accurately locating the tags. To help alleviate this performance degradation, one or more handheld, user-operated, mobile, RFID tag readers are sometimes used in conjunction with the overhead RFID tag readers. The handheld, mobile readers typically have a shorter reading range, e.g., up to about ten feet, and since they can be brought more closely to, and targeted more directly at, individual RFID-tagged products, a successful reading of each individual RFID-tagged product is more likely, with a lesser likelihood that any RF signal will be reflected and/or scattered and/or at least partially absorbed by walls and/or structures of the venue.
In practice, however, the operation of the mobile readers is independent of, and not synchronized with, the operation of the overhead readers. As a result, simultaneous operation of the mobile readers and of the overhead readers could sometimes interfere with each other, thereby resulting in reduced overall reading performance for both readers.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to optimize RFID reading performance when reading RFID tags associated with products in a venue in which overhead RFID readers are deployed and operated substantially simultaneously with one or more handheld, mobile RFID readers.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and locations of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The arrangement and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.